It’s no secret the Los Gatos High girls basketball team has fielded some tall teams in the past, especially in recent years.
However, Wildcats coach Sara Quilici Giles said what makes her most excited about this year’s squad is they’re not relying on their height as a crutch to beat smaller teams and undermanned opponents.
“Everyone talks about our height, that’s our claim to fame. I like the fact we’re not relying on it as much this year. We’re playing inside-outside, our talls can shoot, so it’s not just we’re banging down low,” Quilici Giles said. “Everybody is kind of coming into their own, just being more confident. They’re not just saying we’re the taller team and that’s why we win.”
Quilici Giles is in her sixth season as Los Gatos coach, and it’s been quite a ride. The Wildcats are coming off a 2022-2023 season in which they finished 21-7—including a perfect 12-0 to win the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division championship—and advanced to the CIF NorCal playoffs for the second straight season.
With a solid core from that team returning this season, things are once again looking bright for Los Gatos. The Wildcats entered their Dec. 5 non-league game against Branham High with a 2-0 record, including a 62-42 win over a perennially tough Leland High team on Nov. 30.
Ashley Childers poured in 23 points, Nicole Steiner had 18 and Claire Galbo 11 as the Wildcats never looked back after taking a 17-9 lead after the first quarter and extending the advantage to 18 points entering halftime.
Quilici Giles said she likes how the team’s top three returners have grown in their leadership abilities.
“It’s nice to see them just getting more confident overall and in the times when we need a leader to step up,” she said. “Sometimes you can see them looking around for Casey Brennan or Keira Dodd who graduated last year, and think, ‘Oh, that’s me, I’m the leader now.’
“It’s nice to kind of see them take their own leadership role and see how they’ve learned from leaders here in the past. And they do it a little differently, they put their own spin on it, but they’re also getting more confident about being great teammates and being great leaders.”
Childers, a junior wing, has seen her stock rise over the past several months and recently received an offer from USF. The 6-foot-2 standout can shoot it from distance, has a nice midrange shot and has improved her ability to drive and finish strong at the basket.
Galbo, a 6-1 senior forward, is relentless on defense, a ferocious rebounder and an opportunistic scorer in the paint. Steiner can be unstoppable often on the low block, and she’s added a couple of moves to her arsenal that will add to her post game.
Los Gatos also returns junior guard Ella Rabitz, who can get hot from 3-point range and sophomore guard Rita Zhou.
“Rita is being relied on a lot more this year than last year,” Quilici Giles said. “She’s taking that role in stride right now and it’s awesome to have her on the team. My favorite thing about Rita is she smiles just as big when one of her teammates does well as when she does well. The smile just radiates.”
When Childers and Steiner came along as freshmen three years ago, they were part of an outstanding class and made an immediate impact. The ’Cats have another dynamic freshman this year in guard Sophie Riese, who can knock down shots from the outside and make a difference in other areas of the game because of her athleticism and speed.
“Sophie is so fast,” Quilici Giles said. “In sprints she doesn’t even seem like she’s tired in practice. She’s fantastic. Sophie is like an Energizer Bunny off the bench. She only has one speed which sometimes is not fantastic, but she’s been pretty great for the most part.”
From the Leland game, Quilici Giles saw a lot of glaring things the team can work on. But that’s exactly what the sizable non-league slate of games is for in the leadup to league play which starts on Jan. 3.
“We did a lot of reaching on defense, and just being lazy and not talking enough at all,” she said. “And so my biggest thing is we have to communicate on defense. We can rely on our athleticism maybe for some games, but that’s not going to work for the teams that are more even keel with us. And so we definitely need to communicate more, move our feet more and just take more pride in playing defense.”
Quilici Giles never shies away from playing the best competition. After Branham, the Wildcats play Evergreen Valley, Pinewood and Santa Cruz—all teams that are traditionally some of the best in the section.
